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What’s in a quarry?

An essential industry

Aggregates - crushed rock, sand It is easy to regard a quarry as a hole in the


ground. It takes a bit more imagination to
and gravel - are essential to our appreciate that many of the good things of life
come out of that hole. In a typical year, the
way of life; as important to us in UK’s quarry network helps to provide:
their own way as the food we
• 180,000 new homes each requiring an
eat. They literally underpin our average of 60 tonnes of aggregates
• £1.6 billion of school building Land Use in the UK
society, providing us with places • £1.3 billion of hospital building Quarrying (Eng & Wales) 0.35%
• £1.7 billion of improvements to water Urban Development 12%
to live, places to work, places to
services Forestry 10%
play, and much more. • maintenance of our 230,000-mile road Agriculture and Rural 77%
and 10,000-mile rail networks Roads 1.5%
Quarrying for aggregates does, • 4.6 million tonnes of special sands vital
to other industries.
however, have environmental
Quarrying is a major industry. There are
implications, requiring a over 1,300 quarries in the UK producing
Aggregates Demand 1971 - 2000 GB
responsible approach from the products valued at some £3 billion a year. million tonnes averages in 5 year periods
The construction industry, which contributes
270
industry and a considerate around ten per cent of the nation’s gross 244
229
213
domestic product, is totally reliant on 202 203
attitude to its neighbours. quarrying.

Demand for primary aggregates amounted to


around 205 million tonnes in 2000 - the
71-75 76-80 81-85 86-90 91-95 96-00
equivalent of 3.6 tonnes for every one of us or
a lorry load for the typical family. The industry
has committed itself to reducing the call on
primary aggregates and is investing in facilities
that will increase the proportion of recycled
aggregates. Recycling currently contributes
45-50 million tonnes per annum, giving a total
market (both primary and recycled aggregates)
of 250-255 million tonnes.

Quarrying supports some 40,000 jobs. Many


of these jobs are in rural areas where there are
limited employment opportunities.

22AN
1 ANESSENTIAL
ESSENTIALINDUSTRY
INDUSTRY WHAT’S IN A QUARRY? WHAT’S IN A QUARRY? AN ESSENTIAL INDUSTRY 2
Quarry products can only be dug where nature has placed them. This means that most Pre-Application Discussions Consultations if relevant

Countryside
Government
of our quarries are located in the countryside where pressures on development are Bodies
Agency,
MAFF etc
Discussion/
Restoration Local Yes
intense. A balance has to be struck between our need for raw materials and the necessity Aftercare Residents
Full Mineral Council
Draft Local Planning Planning
Plan Authority Planning
to protect all that is best about our environment. The quarrying industry is pursuing ever Negotiation:
Application Authority
Highways Meeting
Purchase/ Environment Authority No
Agency etc (if
higher performance standards and works closely with government at all levels and with THE
Lease
Environment
Ecologists, necessary)
THE

Applicant
Archaeologists
SITE Agency etc etc QUARRY
others to try to achieve that balance.
Neighbour
Local Notification/ Press
Residents Posters on
Site

Publicity

Striking a balance The industry recognises that it works in a


sensitive environment and that its operations,
It rarely takes less than four years and often as
much as ten years to bring a new operation
licences including regular monitoring and
zoning restricting the area dredged at
like any change in land use, are bound to be of on-stream. The total investment in a new rock any time.
concern. It is the role of the planning system quarry can be as much as £10 million. Once
to establish the necessary balance and to the new site is underway, the operator must Environmental assessments
come up with a framework that allows pay close attention to the conditions and Environmental impact assessments are
aggregates to be provided from the most legal agreements placed on the permission normally required for minerals projects. Such
environmentally acceptable sources. In and satisfy the mineral planning authority and documents are designed to ensure that every
England, the Department of the Environment, the Environment Agency in particular that possible impact is considered and, where
Transport and the Regions (DETR) has set up their requirements are being met. The planning necessary, dealt with. A typical report provides
regional aggregates working parties to offer and regulation processes are rigorous - and a comprehensive assessment of noise, dust,
advice. It also publishes policy on supply and rightly so. traffic, water, ecology and landscape. It adds
other planning issues in the form of guidelines up to a vital safeguard for local communities
for planning authorities. Scotland, Wales and Planning at sea as well as for the environment.
Northern Ireland each have their own systems. The Crown Estate owns the mineral rights to
the sea-bed around the UK and issues licences
It is within this policy framework that for extraction. It will, however, only issue a
individual quarry operators then develop licence if there is agreement from government
applications for consideration by the planners - the DETR, the National Assembly for Wales
- county councils or unitary authorities. or the Scottish Parliament. An application to
Companies will often consult with local people dredge must include an environmental impact
and local organisations before lodging an assessment made up of a range of studies. A
application, which then goes through a more Government decision is reached after wide
formal consultation stage involving bodies consultation with local authorities, fishing
such as the Environment Agency, English organisations, Government advisers and other
Nature and the relevant highways authority. bodies. Conditions are commonly attached to

3 STRIKING A BALANCE WHAT’S IN A QUARRY? WHAT’S IN A QUARRY? STRIKING A BALANCE 4


Sources of aggregates

There are two main types of aggregates in Britain. A line drawn roughly Land aggregates
Aggregates are plentiful in most parts of the
from The Wash to Portland Bill would separate the two - sand and UK. Local resources can, therefore, often satisfy
local needs. Aggregates are only transported
gravel to the south and crushed rock plus limited sand and gravel long distances when it is absolutely necessary
outcrops to the north. Land-based quarries satisfy some 76 per cent of because the cost can double for each 30 miles
travelled and the environmental consequences
the nation’s needs, and marine aggregates provide five per cent. of heavy lorries increase. Yorkshire
& Humberside

North

Recycled and secondary aggregates are of growing importance and now As with many raw materials, resources are not
West

always distributed evenly and some inter-


contribute around 19 per cent. West
Midlands
East
Anglia

regional movement is necessary. The south-


east, for example, has its own supplies of sand South
East

and gravel but relies heavily on crushed rock


brought in by rail from the East Midlands and
South West and by sea from Scotland and
Wales. It also requires marine-dredged sand
and gravel from coastal waters.

Crushed rock
Rock quarries have long lives and the way they
are worked means that progressive restoration
opportunities are more limited than those for
sand and gravel. However, modern techniques
allow faces to be restored by planting trees,
shrubs and grass when quarrying has been
completed.

Three main types of rock are used to produce


crushed rock aggregates:

Sedimentary Created by settlement of Igneous Solidified molten rocks (eg basalt,


particles (eg gritstones) or organic remains (eg granite)
limestone) in ancient seas

Metamorphic Created by heat or pressure


(eg hornfels, quartzites)

5 SOURCES OF AGGREGATES WHAT’S IN A QUARRY? WHAT’S IN A QUARRY? SOURCES OF AGGREGATES 6


Sources of aggregates

Sand and gravel Marine aggregates The challenges that go with recycled and
Sand and gravel derives from the erosion of At a time when land-based quarrying is under secondary aggregates are fourfold:
particles that were transported and deposited increasing environmental pressure, aggregates
by water or ice. from the sea are an additional resource that is • environmental - the recovery, processing
growing in importance. Government policy is and transport of recycled materials have some
These quarries are usually shallow, sometimes that at least seven per cent of the UK’s similar environmental impacts as those for
only five or six metres deep. Operations are aggregates needs should come from the sea- primary aggregates. The right environmental
likely to be shorter term than for a rock quarry bed. Some 72 per cent of marine aggregates balance of supply has to be struck
and, with progressive restoration normally are used in the UK while 28 per cent goes to
following closely behind extraction, the mainland Europe. • technical - quality constraints have to be
working area can be comparatively small. Recycled and secondary aggregates considered. Concerns about product quality
Direct delivery of marine aggregates to rail- Recycled and secondary aggregates are making and an absence of adequate technical
linked wharves on the Thames effectively an increasingly important contribution to the specifications have inhibited wider use of
removes the equivalent of 50,000 lorry loads UK’s needs. By reducing unnecessary demand recycled materials in some cases
Shares of Aggregate Supply for
from the streets of London every year. on primary aggregates, they are helping the
Great Britain (2000 est)
industry to become more sustainable. Current • economic - recycling isn’t always cheaper.
6% 18%
Licensed areas for dredging account for less use of recycled and secondary aggregates is Transport costs, for example, can make
SAND & GRAVEL RECYCLED than one per cent of the seabed around the estimated to be 45 to 50 million tonnes per recycled aggregates expensive in areas where
(MARINE DREDGED)
UK - and some 90 per cent of all material is annum. they do not occur
sourced from just 21 square kilometres.
Recycled aggregates are produced from • supply- only a finite amount of material is
The industry accepts its responsibility to demolition and construction waste. Secondary available to recycle. In urban areas, for
operate with care and concern for other users aggregates include a range of industrial by- example, the use of demolition waste is a
of the sea and in particular for our coastline, products and wastes such as colliery spoil, well-established process
beaches and marine ecology. Operators believe china clay waste, slate waste, power station
this challenge should be approached as a ash, blastfurnace slag and even green glass
partnership with all the other parties involved that is not commercially recyclable. The most
27% 49%
SAND & GRAVEL CRUSHED ROCK and have instigated a voluntary initiative widely available and widely used resource from
(LAND BASED)
designed to restrict dredging to the level this sector is construction and demolition
necessary to meet society’s needs. waste.

7 SOURCES OF AGGREGATES WHAT’S IN A QUARRY? WHAT’S IN A QUARRY? SOURCES OF AGGREGATES 8


Rock quarries usually operate for at least 30 Working in quarrying extractive industries. Through EPIC, and

How a rock quarry works years and are developed in distinct ‘benches’
or steps. A controlled explosion is normally
Quarries are important rural employers and
offer a range of interesting job opportunities -
through other internal and external training
schemes, an increasing number of employees
are achieving national vocational
used to release the rock from the working from operating massive and expensive
face. It is then transported by truck or machinery at the quarry face, to managing an qualifications. Health, safety and
conveyor to a crusher to go through a series of entire site, or to providing specialist service environmental considerations feature strongly
crushing and screening stages to produce a advice. Quarry companies take their training in training agendas across the length and
range of final sizes to suit customers' needs. responsibilities seriously and work closely with breadth of the country as these issues are of
EPIC, the national training organisation for the paramount importance for business success.

4 Haul roads 6 Stockpiles Larger rock together with 11 Landscaping and restoration
soils and clays are While the quarry continues to be worked deeper, its
Safety is paramount on
separated at this stage. impact is being reduced by progressive restoration of the
the quarry haul roads, the
The rock may be used for upper faces and by planting on the benches that have
edges of which are
the base layer in roads been completed. Soils have also been used to create a
protected by substantial
while soils and clays, screening mound that breaks distant views into the
barriers.
known as ‘scalpings’, are quarry. The site offers a range of important wildlife and
required for bulk fill. plant habitats.

1 Drilling 8 Storage
Soils are removed and This quarry has both
stored for use in storage silos and covered
landscaping and storage bays. The stone is
restoration. A drilling rig stored in a range of sizes:
then drills a series of 40mm, 28mm, 20mm,
strategically-located and 14mm, 10mm, 6mm and
angled holes in the dust. It is drawn from
underlying rock. here for a variety of end
uses.
2 Blasting
An experienced and
licensed shot-firer
charges each hole with
just sufficient explosive
to break the rock and to
drop it into a neat pile. In
the quarry shown,
blasting takes place twice
a week, releasing about
15,000 tonnes on each
occasion. 9 Dry stone loading
Lorries use pre-programmed ’smart cards’ to load
3 Loading and automatically. Dry stone is generally delivered over a 30-
mile radius. Some large quarries also have rail
transport
connections for longer distance deliveries, so reducing
A powerful excavator the impact of lorries on the roads.
loads the rock into 65-
tonne quarry dumper
trucks for delivery to the
primary crusher.

5 Primary crusher 7 Screening 10 Asphalt plant


Powerful hammers within the primary crusher break the The rock passes through a This quarry has a plant that coats the stone with
rock down. An operator supervises the process from an series of screens that bitumen to create asphalt for use in surfaces ranging
air-conditioned control room. From this point, the sieve it into different from motorways and runways to driveways. Many
process is fully enclosed to control both dust and noise. sizes. It may also pass quarries also have plants that mix the stone with
through further crushing cement to make ready-mixed concrete, and some have
stages. factories to make concrete blocks.

9 HOW A ROCK QUARRY WORKS WHAT’S IN A QUARRY? WHAT’S IN A QUARRY? HOW A ROCK QUARRY WORKS 10
Sand and gravel quarries are much shallower The majority of

How a sand & gravel than rock quarries and are usually worked and
restored in progressive phases. This means that
marine extraction
involves ‘trailer’
Marine aggregates
the area exposed for quarrying at any time can dredging.

quarry works be minimised and land that has been


‘borrowed’ is out of productive use for a
limited period.
A draghead
connected to
powerful suction
pumps is trailed along the seabed while the
vessel moves at between one and three knots.
Satellite navigation enables the ships to work
to within five metres accuracy.

Soil removal and storage Inert fill Screening banks


Restoration
Careful stripping, storage and subsequent replacement This quarry is using inert Soils that have been The quarry shown is being progressively restored to
of soil are fundamental to good agricultural restoration. material to allow the land stripped are often used to agriculture. It will also have a lake to attract wildlife.
Care is taken to avoid unnecessary compaction during to be returned to its create banks to screen Other sites may offer opportunities for restoration as
the stripping stage and to store topsoil separately from former contours. specific parts of the site nature reserves or for water-based leisure, sports pitches,
subsoil. Such standards may well result in restored during operation. forestry or for some form of development.
farmland ultimately achieving a higher quality.

Extraction area
The area actually being quarried at any time is
minimised by ensuring that restoration runs hand-in-
hand with extraction. Quarries like the one in our main
Hopper and field conveyor photograph are pumped to allow them to be worked
In the quarry shown, raw material is loaded into a ‘dry’. Others, like the one shown left, are operated as
hopper that feeds it onto conveyors for transport to the lakes with the aggregate extracted from below water.
processing plant. Other quarries may transport the
material by lorry.

Gravel stockpiles Processing separates


gravel into a range of
sizes. Greatest demand is
for 10mm, 20mm and
40mm gravel. Some
plants include a crushing
unit to break down larger
stones. Lorries are loaded
from the stockpiles.
Silt settling ponds
Washing of the gravel Ready-mixed concrete plant
during processing leaves This quarry incorporates a
sediment that is then left ready-mixed concrete
to settle in a series of silt plant. Here, sand and
ponds. Clean water may Weighbridge gravel are mixed with
be discharged into a local cement to produce one
Every load leaving the site passes over a weighbridge to
river or recycled into the of our most important
ensure that the customer receives the quantity he
production process. The building materials. Other
requires. Larger quarries may use computerised systems
fertile silt may be used in quarries may have an
that automatically load the required grade and quantity.
restoration. asphalt plant making
surfacing for roads.

Sand stockpiles Site of Special


Scientific Interest Processing plant
Sand separated from
A conveyor draws raw material from a stockpile into the
gravel during processing An area of ancient
plant where it is washed to remove unwanted clay and
is then de-watered before woodland is protected
to separate sand. Gravel then passes over a series of
passing to stockpiles. within this site. Other
screens that sieve the material into different sizes. The
quarries give special
process is controlled from a central control room.
protection to
archaeological remains.

11 HOW A SAND & GRAVEL QUARRY WORKS WHAT’S IN A QUARRY? WHAT’S IN A QUARRY? HOW A SAND & GRAVEL QUARRY WORKS 12
Quarry products

Strength provided by quarries is Asphalt Ready-mixed concrete


Asphalt keeps our feet (and wheels) safely on Concrete is the most universal of all
keeping you safe at this very the ground. As the surface for some 95 per construction materials. Widely used in all types
cent of our roads as well as for playgrounds, of construction, concrete provides the hidden
moment. If you are in a building, car parks, airport runways and much more, it is strength in foundations, floors, walls and roofs.
aggregates are sheltering you. If resilient and versatile. Concrete also partners and underpins the
other major structural materials - steel,
you are travelling by road or The aggregates industry produces 26 million timber, brick and glass. Without it, none of the
tonnes of asphalt every year. While the others can function. Particularly with high
railway, they are beneath you. If strength comes from stone, the bonding quality modern finishes, it can also provide an
mechanism is an oil-based bitumen. The attractive outer face for buildings and
you happen to be in an
‘recipe’ is varied to suit the end use. Greater structures.
aeroplane you will have skid resistance, increased durability, reduced
noise and less spray are just some of the Made from a carefully balanced mix of
particularly good reason to properties offered by the latest range of aggregates, cement and water, ready-mixed
asphalts. National and local highway concrete is produced at strategically located
Amazing aggregates
thank aggregates for a safe
authorities are now making increasing use of plants. There are some 1,150 such plants in Some less familiar uses of aggregates:
landing! And if you took a bath low-noise asphalt road surfaces. the UK producing around 23 million cubic
metres a year. • for agriculture - ground limestone
or shower this morning, the pure Asphalt production plants are normally neutralises acidic soils
situated in quarries, but they may also be • for power stations - powdered
water - filtered through sand -
temporary installations on a major road or limestone is used to clean chimney
came to you courtesy of airfield site. The production process involves stack emissions
blending the aggregates and then heating End Uses of Aggregates (2000 est)
• for glass - silica sand is used to make
concrete pipes. All this comes them to a temperature suitable for coating
25% bottles, jars and glasses
with a bitumen binder. OFFICES/RETAIL/LEISURE
from quarries. 10% 20% • for steel - burnt lime is used to make
FACTORIES/WAREHOUSES HOUSING
steel
• in toothpaste - powdered limestone is
a gentle abrasive
• in medicines - pills are made from
finely crushed rock
• for our water - special sands are used
for filtering drinking water - stone is
25% 20%
OTHER TRANSPORT/ ROAD used to clean dirty water
UTILITIES/ CONSTRUCTION &
PUBLIC BUILDINGS MAINTENANCE • for beach and coastal protection -
large rocks are used as breakwaters,
while sand is pumped onto eroded
beaches to increase protection and to
restore their attraction to tourists

13 QUARRY PRODUCTS WHAT’S IN A QUARRY? WHAT’S IN A QUARRY? QUARRY PRODUCTS 14


Borrowed land

Thorpe Park, Surrey Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham Cotswold Water Park

Restoring quarried land is one of Sand and gravel Restoration Tree planting
The majority of sand and gravel quarries Awards Scheme Through its landscaping and restoration
the great skills of the industry. have been returned to agriculture and there which, over programmes the quarrying industry is probably
is increasing awareness of the contribution more than 30 the UK’s biggest planter of new trees. Over the
Extraction of minerals is a restored sites can make to wildlife habitats years, has rewarded last 10 years, Quarry Products Association
temporary land use which may and to promote biodiversity. The progressive excellence at some 400 sites. members have planted many millions of trees
nature of this type of quarrying means that and shrubs.
last no longer than 10 years for restoration can follow closely behind Rock quarrying
extraction so the land can be returned to Rock quarries offer a very different restoration
sand and gravel, and perhaps 30 farming in a matter of months. challenge. Usually much deeper than their
sand and gravel counterparts and involving
years or more for a typical rock
Careful stripping, storage and handling of soils progressively deeper working of the same
quarry. Restoration is usually is fundamental. Working of the site will always limited area, opportunities for progressive
be against the background of a restoration restoration are more limited.
phased through the life of a site scheme agreed at the outset.
Modern techniques do, however, mean that
and may involve a return to the
the upper ‘benches’ can be treated and
previous use. Alternatively, it may planted as they are completed. While the final
quarry floor can often be successfully returned Biodiversity
offer a once-only opportunity for to agriculture, such sites have much to offer The quarrying industry’s compatibility with
for forestry, nature conservation, water-based nature is not always appreciated. A survey has
change to a new use that
leisure and country parks. identified that more than 100 Sites of Special
benefits wildlife and the Scientific Interest (SSSIs) have been created by
QPA members. English Nature has estimated
community. The industry is, that some 700 SSSIs owe their origins to the
minerals industry. Partnerships with
therefore, constantly recycling conservation bodies, local government and
land, a resource that is in reality communities are fundamental. The industry is
Restoration achievements by Britain’s sand and
playing an important role in helping to achieve
gravel quarries are some of the finest in the
only borrowed - and is usually the government’s biodiversity targets and the
world. Often, the industry leaves no mark at all
Quarry Products Association has signed a
returned with interest! - restored farmland may well be of a higher
landmark joint statement of intent with
quality than that which existed previously.
English Nature and the Silica and Moulding
More spectacularly, the industry has given us
Sands Association designed to encourage
Thorpe Park in Surrey, the Holme Pierrepont
environmentally sustainable development.
national watersports centre near Nottingham
and the Cotswold Water Park. It has also
created numerous wildlife reserves, golf
courses, sports pitches and much more. These
and many other sites have featured in the
Quarry Products Association’s annual

15 BORROWED LAND WHAT’S IN A QUARRY? WHAT’S IN A QUARRY? BORROWED LAND 16


Quarrying in Society
The contribution the quarrying industry makes to local communities is substantial, though often unseen.
Quite apart from its products, it also provides precious rural jobs and invests in local services. As an
industry which operates in the countryside, it nonetheless has the potential to impact upon its
neighbours and accepts the need to maintain close relationships and to set high standards of
performance.
Part of the community
Quarries tend to be located in rural areas and
operators are usually an important contributor
to community life. Companies welcome
organised visits to their sites and open days
are especially popular. Particular assistance is
given to schools, which find that local quarries
offer rare opportunities for added interest in
studies across wide areas of the curriculum.
Some quarries have formal liaison committees Archaeology
comprising of council officers and community Some of the most exciting archaeological
representatives as a means of ensuring regular discoveries have been made as a direct result
dialogue. of quarrying. Finds over recent years have
included a Saxon warrior king’s helmet in
Awards Northamptonshire, a vast Roman
The QPA encourages high site standards amphitheatre in Yorkshire and a bronze age
through two award schemes, one for logboat in Derbyshire. All have added greatly
restoration and another for general site to the better understanding of our past. The
housekeeping standards. Around 160 sites a industry operates to a CBI code of practice,
year are vetted under the latter scheme, a giving its full co-operation and extensive
comprehensive environmental process funding to ensure that archaeologists have
that checks everything from external every opportunity to unlock the hidden secrets
visual appearance to dust control. of a site before, and during, quarrying.

Play Safe...Stay Safe A good neighbour


The industry mounts a major campaign at the The Quarry Products Association has launched
start of each summer to alert children to the a nationwide scheme designed to encourage
dangers of playing in quarries. The Quarry collective commitment amongst members to
Products Association’s Play Safe...Stay Safe a common Good Neighbour code. Those
resource pack includes a video and a series of operating the scheme promise to be caring,
project cards designed to help teachers use clean, considerate, committed and
the subject within the national curriculum. co-operative.

17 QUARRYING IN SOCIETY WHAT’S IN A QUARRY? WHAT’S IN A QUARRY? QUARRYING IN SOCIETY 18


The Quarry Products Association welcomes
comments and requests for further
information about the industry’s work

Providing Essential
Materials for Britain

The trade association for the


aggregate, asphalt and ready-mixed
concrete industries

156 Buckingham Palace Road


London SW1W 9TR
Tel 020 7730 8194
Fax 020 7730 4355
info@qpa.org
www.qpa.org

Designed and produced by


Robert Stoakes Design Associates
Researched and written by French Jones
© Quarry Products Association 2001

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